WeightWatchers Bets on Community Driving Growth in the GLP-1 Era
Fresh off a major restructuring, the 62-year-old grand dame of weight loss is finding its footing in a market that's more competitive than ever. Drugs like Novo Nordisk A/S 's Wegovy and Eli Lilly & Co. 's Zepbound help people shed up to 20% of their body weight in months, but offer little in the way of support when it comes to side effects, proper nutrition and insights on what to do when the shots aren't working.
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34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
I'm in my 50s and have recently developed brown spots. Can anything be done about hyperpigmentation?
Dermatologist Marisa Garshick explains how UV exposure, hormones and inflammation cause dark spots — and what can reverse them. I'm in my early 50s and have recently developed some serious brown sun spots on my cheeks, forehead and chest. At first, I thought they were freckles, but then I realized they looked a lot smudgier and more blob-like than the freckles I had when I was younger. What can I do to get rid of them? Thanks! Dear Aging Into Age Spots, It's true that at one time you may have sprouted a sprinkling of cute, Punky Brewster-esque freckles, but into middle age you get less-cute sun damage, also known as the definitely unadorable-sounding hyperpigmentation. "Hyperpigmentation is the result of an increase in melanin and can result from UV exposure or environmental stressors that lead to free radical damage and manifest as brown spots," board-certified dermatologist Dr. Marisa Garshick told me last month. "It can arise in the setting of what is known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which refers to discoloration that occurs as a result of skin injury or skin inflammation, such as after an acne breakout or a bug bite. Another type of hyperpigmentation is melasma, which typically occurs on sun-exposed areas of the face and can be triggered by hormonal changes." While hyperpigmentation is super common, the bad news is it won't go away on its own. But the good news? Garshick says there are loads of treatments for it, some of which you can try at home. The first thing to do if you notice new spots on your face (or body) is head to a dermatologist's office. After the doctor has determined that the skin discoloration is benign, you can decide on the best course of treatment together. In-office treatments for hyperpigmentation include lower-cost chemical peels or pricier services like lasers and light-based devices. Different forms of hyperpigmentation will respond better to different treatments, so a consultation with an expert is essential to find the right fit for your skin. And while I was initially skeptical, Garshick assures me that at-home remedies can also be effective to brighten dark spots, though the effect will be more subtle and happen over time. Of the best over-the-counter products, she's seen a good result with both inexpensive drugstore creams like Eucerin's thiamiadol dark spot corrector and pricier serums like Mother Science's award-winning Molecular Hero, which contains a patented form of malassezin and which was used — in addition to sunscreen — on the set of the most recent season of The White Lotus to keep the actors' skin from developing further damage in the hot Thailand sun. Other ingredients that have been proved to promote clarity in your complexion are vitamin C and retinol. Most important of all, to avoid further brown spots, Garschick says it's crucial to apply sunscreen whenever you're planning on being outside in the sun and to reapply it every two hours for optimal protection. "I'd also say to avoid peak hours in the sun and seek shade whenever possible," she the daily Crossword
Yahoo
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Monroe Capital Supports Summit Professional Education's Acquisition of Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute
CHICAGO, August 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Monroe Capital LLC ("Monroe") announced it acted as sole lead arranger and administrative agent on the funding of a senior credit facility and equity co-investment to support the acquisition of Herman & Wallace Pelvic Rehabilitation Institute ("Herman & Wallace") by Summit Professional Education ("Summit"), an existing portfolio company of Avathon Capital. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Seattle, WA, Herman & Wallace provides comprehensive, hands-on and evidence-based curricula for treating pelvic floor dysfunction in all people throughout the life cycle. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Franklin, TN, Summit is a provider of in-person and online continuing and professional education courses for physical therapists and assistants, occupational therapists and assistants, and speech language pathologists. Together, Herman & Wallace and Summit will expand access, innovate clinician education, and continue to raise the standard of care in pelvic health. This transaction is representative of Monroe's ability to provide comprehensive "one-stop" solutions for private equity sponsors seeking debt and equity capital to finance their acquisitions and recapitalizations. About Monroe Capital Monroe Capital LLC ("Monroe") is a premier asset management firm specializing in private credit markets across various strategies, including direct lending, technology finance, venture debt, alternative credit solutions, structured credit, real estate and equity. Since 2004, the firm has been successfully providing capital solutions to clients in the U.S. and Canada. Monroe prides itself on being a value-added and user-friendly partner to business owners, management, and both private equity and independent sponsors. Monroe's platform offers a wide variety of investment products for both institutional and high net worth investors with a focus on generating high quality "alpha" returns irrespective of business or economic cycles. The firm is headquartered in Chicago and has 11 locations throughout the United States, Asia and Australia. Monroe has been recognized by both its peers and investors with various awards including Private Debt Investor as the 2024 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Year, Americas and 2023 Lower Mid-Market Lender of the Decade; Inc.'s 2024 Founder-Friendly Investors List; Global M&A Network as the 2023 Lower Mid-Markets Lender of the Year, U.S.A.; DealCatalyst as the 2022 Best CLO Manager of the Year; Korean Economic Daily as the 2022 Best Performance in Private Debt – Mid Cap; Creditflux as the 2021 Best U.S. Direct Lending Fund; and Pension Bridge as the 2020 Private Credit Strategy of the Year. For more information and important disclaimers, please visit View source version on Contacts For more information, please contact: Zia UddinMonroe Capital LLC312-523-2374zuddin@ Daniel AbramsonBackBay Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Gizmodo
36 minutes ago
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The Era of ‘AI Psychosis' is Here. Are You a Possible Victim?
If the term 'AI psychosis' has completely infiltrated your social media feed lately, you're not alone. While not an official medical diagnosis, 'AI psychosis' is the informal name mental health professionals have coined for the widely-varying, often dysfunctional, and at times deadly delusions, hallucinations, and disordered thinking seen in some frequent users of AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT. The cases are piling: from an autistic man driven to manic episodes to a teenager pushed to commit suicide by a chatbot, the dangerous outcomes of an AI obsession are well-documented. With limited guardrails and no real regulatory oversight over the use of the technology, AI chatbots are freely giving incorrect information and dangerous validation to vulnerable people. The victims often have existing mental disorders, but the cases are increasingly seen in people with no history of mental illness as well. The Federal Trade Commission has received a growing number of complaints from ChatGPT users in the past few months, detailing cases of delusion like one 60-something year old user who was led by ChatGPT to believe that they were being targeted for assasination. While AI chatbots validate some users into paranoid delusions and derealization, they also lure other victims into deeply problematic emotional attachments. Chatbots from tech giants like Meta and that put on the persona of a 'real' character can convince people with active mental health problems or predispositions that they are in fact real. These attachments can have fatal consequences. Earlier this month, a cognitively-impaired man from New Jersey died while trying to get to New York, where Meta's flirty AI chatbot 'big sis Billie' had convinced him that she was living and had been waiting for him. On the less fatal but still concerning end of the spectrum, some people on Reddit have formed a community over their experience of falling in love with AI chatbots (although it's not very clear which users are satirical and which are genuine). And in other cases, the psychosis was not induced by an AI chatbot's dangerous validation, but by medical advice that was outright incorrect. A 60-year old man with no past psychiatric or medical history ended up at the ER after suffering a psychosis induced by bromide poisoning. The chemical compound can be toxic in chronic doses, and ChatGPT had falsely advised the victim that he could safely take bromide supplements to reduce his table salt intake. Read more about that AI poisoning story from Gizmodo here. Although the cases are being brought into the spotlight relatively recently, experts have been sounding the alarm and nudging authorities for months. The American Psychological Association met with the FTC in February to urge regulators to address the use of AI chatbots as unlicensed therapists. 'When apps designed for entertainment inappropriately leverage the authority of a therapist, they can endanger users. They might prevent a person in crisis from seeking support from a trained human therapist or—in extreme cases—encourage them to harm themselves or others,' the APA wrote in a blog post from March, quoting UC Irvine professor of clinical psychology Stephen Schueller. 'Vulnerable groups include children and teens, who lack the experience to accurately assess risks, as well as individuals dealing with mental health challenges who are eager for support,' the APA said. Although the main victims are those with existing neurodevelopmental and mental health disorders, a growing number of these cases have also been seen in people who don't have an active disorder. Overwhelming AI use can exacerbate existing risk factors and cause psychosis in people who are prone to disordered thinking, who lack a strong support system, or have an overactive imagination. Psychologists especially advise that those with a family history of psychosis, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder take caution when relying on AI chatbots. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman himself has admitted that the company's chatbot is increasingly being used as a therapist, and even warned against this use case. And following the mounting online criticism over the cases, OpenAI announced earlier this month that the chatbot will nudge users to take breaks from chatting with the app. It's not yet clear just how effective a mere nudge can be in combatting the psychosis and addiction in some users, but the tech giant also claimed that it is actively 'working closely with experts to improve how ChatGPT responds in critical moments – for example, when someone shows signs of mental or emotional distress.' As the technology grows and evolves at a rapid scale, mental health professionals are having a tough time catching up to figure out what is going on and how to resolve it. If regulatory bodies and AI companies don't take the necessary steps, what is right now a terrifying yet minority trend in AI chatbot users could very well spiral out of control into an overwhelming problem.
